UK authorities seize thousands of unlicensed weight loss jabs in major drug trafficking bust

Authorities in the United Kingdom have busted a major drug trafficking operation making and selling unlicensed weight loss jabs, in what they say may be the world’s largest takedown of its kind.

Over a two-day raid at a warehouse in the English town of Northampton, police seized more than 2,000 unlicensed retatrutide and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) pens that were ready to be sold, as well as tens of thousands of empty weight loss pens and raw chemical ingredients.

The supplies were valued at more than £250,000 (€287,000), according to the UK’s drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversaw the bust.

Police also confiscated about £20,000 (€23,000) in cash that they suspect is linked to the trafficking of these unlicensed and “potentially deadly” drugs, the agency said.

The operation was the first illegal weight loss jab factory to have been discovered in the UK.

MHRA said it is “believed to be the largest single seizure of trafficked weight loss medicines ever recorded by a law enforcement agency worldwide”.

The bust comes amid soaring demand for weight loss medicines. Health officials across the globe have urged people not to buy them online or on social media because the drugs may be tainted or otherwise unsafe.

Retatrutide, for example, belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which help people lose weight by mimicking a hormone that makes them feel full for longer. The group also includes blockbuster medicines such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Saxenda.

However, retatrutide has not been approved in the UK because it is still being tested in clinical trials. That means any supplies of retatrutide found in the country are “likely to be illegal and are potentially dangerous to people’s health,” MHRA said.

In the wake of the bust, UK health secretary Wes Streeting urged people not to turn to the black market to buy weight loss jabs.

“These unregulated products, made with no regard for safety or quality, posed a major risk to unwitting customers,” Streeting said.

Instead of buying the drugs online, he recommended that people “talk to your [doctor], seek NHS [National Health Service] advice, and don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health”.